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Reporting malware samples to Avast Threat Labs

Avast Antivirus protects your PC via technology that proactively detects threats, such as malicious websites and files, and stops them from attacking your system. Acquiring samples of malicious code enables us to provide this protection by continuously updating our products to recognize new threats before they can infect your devices.

If you encounter a suspicious website or file, we encourage you to submit it to our Avast Threat Labs for analysis and further action if required. This article answers common questions related to submitting malware samples to us.

Who can submit files and websites?

Anyone can submit files and websites to Avast Threat Labs for analysis. Our automated system checks all submitted files and websites for malicious or potentially unwanted activity. If the system determines that the file or website is malicious, the file or website is blocked by our virus definition updates. If the system cannot determine whether the file or website is malicious, the file or website is sent to our Avast Threat Labs for manual analysis.

Files and websites that require manual analysis are prioritized according to their level of severity and the number of users the file or website may harm. After manual analysis, the file or website is categorized as either safe, or harmful.

What types of files can I submit?

We encourage you to send us any type of file that you believe may be malicious.

We do not send replies following file submissions or evaluations.

How can I submit samples?

Can I submit samples confidentially?

Avast does not collect any personal information about you when you submit files and websites to Avast Threat Labs. All submitted files and websites are used to improve our software's ability to protect our users from threats.